As reported in today's Los Angeles Times:
Police were on the lookout for Christopher Jordan Dorner, a disgruntled ex-cop suspected of hunting down members of the LAPD and their families in a twisted campaign of revenge. The radio call indicated that the truck matched the description of Dorner's gray Nissan Titan.Then, after this incident occurred...
A few minutes later, a truck slowly rolled down the quiet residential street.
As the vehicle approached the house, officers opened fire, unloading a barrage of bullets into the back of the truck. When the shooting stopped, they quickly realized their mistake. The truck was not a Nissan Titan, but a Toyota Tacoma. The color wasn't gray, but aqua blue. And it wasn't Dorner inside the truck, but a woman and her mother delivering copies of the Los Angeles Times...
Beck and others stressed that the investigation into the shooting is in its infancy. They declined to say how many officers were involved, what kind of weapons they used, how many bullets were fired and, perhaps most important, what kind of verbal warnings — if any — were given to the women before the shooting began...
Law enforcement sources told The Times that at least seven officers opened fire. On Friday, the street was pockmarked with bullet holes in cars, trees, garage doors and roofs. Residents said they wanted to know what happened.
"How do you mistake two Hispanic women, one who is 71, for a large black male?" said Richard Goo, 62, who counted five bullet holes in the entryway to his house.
A few blocks from the first accidental shooting, police were responding to the shots fired calls and came across another similar pickup truck to the suspect's. There was a collision to the rear of the vehicle and police fired three shots (at least) into the windshield of the driver who was luckily uninjured and NOT INVOLVED.Christopher Dorner, the intended target of the police, worked for LAPD and has accused them (manifesto here) of abuse of power and incompetence.
The ultimate irony, as several other sources have commented, is that their response to him is validating his allegations.
Photo cropped from the original by Reuters / Patrick T. Fallon.
I have learned how to stay away from the police but how do I keep the police away from me?
ReplyDeleteI think it should be noted, that earlier the same night.
ReplyDeleteDornan got into a shootout with two LAPD cops in Corona.
He then drove a few miles away and ambushed two Riverside cops sitting in their patrol car, killing one, and wounding another.
I understand why the Torrance cops were on edge, but that still doesn't excuse a horrible mistake.
I did hear report from a neighbor that the truck was driving with the headlights out, so as not to disturb sleeping residents. Oops.
The cops definitely got Buck fever.
They still need to be made accountable for their actions.
What this shows is that they're not trying to arrest him they're trying to kill him. If they wanted to arrest him or stop him they could have shot the tires out from that truck and called for backup. They want to assassinate him either for afraid of what he will say in court or for revenge because he killed some of their brothers. Its old west shootemup justice. Its old Bible justice you kill my brother I kill you.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has ever watched the TV show "Cops" can confirm that police officers tend to over-react when pursuing and/or confronting an allegedly armed individual. And the more nervous the cops are, the more wildly they shoot their weapons. Those poor women are incredibly lucky to be alive, however I am not surprised that they emerged unscathed since a nervous cop can't hit the broadside of a barn.
ReplyDeleteLet's reign this in a bit.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
> What this shows is that they're not trying to arrest him they're trying to kill him.
Or that they're scared and making bad decisions. Bad decisions with terrible consequences, or potentially terrible consequences, and we do expect a higher standard from those who are trained to deal with dangerous, scary, situations.
> And the more nervous the cops are, the more wildly they shoot their weapons.
Have you ever had to go driving around searching for someone who is armed and not only not afraid to shoot people but arguably is hunting people with uniforms (you)?
That doesn't excuse what happened, but why *wouldn't* they be nervous, and who *doesn't* make worse decisions when they're scared?
> Those poor women are incredibly lucky to be alive, however I am not surprised that they emerged unscathed since a nervous cop can't hit the broadside of a barn.
This is rude, disrespectful and inaccurate. What is gained by trash talk?
gbradley sounds like s/he is hitting about the right tone.
I live in Torrance, and one of my friends lives only 2 blocks way from the shooting. She was awake early, and drinking coffee when she heard the fusillade. The attorney for the injured women said that police failed to follow procedure, and shot with no warning. as embeetee mentioned, the police were nervous and shot up the whole neighborhood. The 71-year-old woman and her daughter will not be delivering newspapers, or indeed, working at all when the case is settled.
ReplyDeleteWhich brings up a favorite point of the NRA. They say we need people trained with guns to protect us. They want to arm teachers. Certainly, police are thoroughly trained in the use of firearms of all kinds, but they are human and subject to human emotions. If trained police officers can shoot so wildly and indiscriminately, why on earth would we expect any person with a gun to be any more careful?
These officers seem to be very poor shots, considering they went to Police Academy.
ReplyDeleteHow are these shootings "accidental"?
ReplyDeleteI can sort of kind of understand the overreaction by the street cops, as much as I object to it ... but the "explanations" by their bosses disgust me. We're all supposed to understand that the poor cops are under all kinds of stress. Well, so what? I'm not interested in phony apologies from police authorities; I want to hear how terrible a thing these shootings were, and how they're working to make sure they don't happen again. It's only dumb luck that these completely innocent bystanders weren't killed.
ReplyDeleteWhat was that saying about a Good Guy with a gun?
ReplyDelete"As the vehicle approached the house, officers opened fire, unloading a barrage of bullets into the back of the truck."
ReplyDeleteHow did they shoot up the *back* of truck "as it approached"?
They weren't in the house. They were watching the house and were behind he truck.
DeleteOkay - bottom line: The headlights were out, but how do you - even in the dark - mistake BLUE for GREY?
ReplyDeleteAt night gray looks like white. Bright blue doesn't. Are they all going to claim color-blindness?
Also, gbradley says:
"Dornan got into a shootout with two LAPD cops in Corona.
He then drove a few miles away and ambushed two Riverside cops sitting in their patrol car, killing one, and wounding another."
Ri-i-ight... That is the police side of the story, anyway. That shots were fired doesn't mean that Dornan "ambushed" anyone. I am sure after this episode, Dornan's lawyer will make hay of the cops' (coordinated) story. His lawyer may be able to retire on what he earns from this case.
One more thing. Why is it that cops and prosecutors talk about cops having the right to have emotional reactions, but you never hear about cops and prosecutors allowing for regular citizens to have emotional reactions? It is an old cop sob story: "Our job is soooo dangerous and hard!"
Having come within an eyelash of getting mauled by two Denver cops for a broken light and me asking one basic question, "Why did you pull us over?", I don't want to hear about emotional reactions by cops. Police departments attract people with hair triggers and attitudes, and if we citizens don't bow to them we are at risk of who knows what. If guns are ever outlawed, I hope that soon after police are relieved of them, too. Cops get far too many passes. I am not the only citizen who is as afraid of them (or more) as I am of bad guys.
Steve Garcia
The police need to identify the person they are shooting and not make assumptions. Yes, there are a few good cops, but there are vastly more incompetent morons in blue uniforms posing as cops.
ReplyDelete